Outdoor Lighting

Exterior lighting can enhance an outdoor setting as well as provide valuable safety and security lighting for both residential or commercial spaces. Path lights, decorative stair and step lighting, and rope lights can be used to beautify and illuminate patios, decks, gazebos, and landscapes, while barbecue lights and outdoor work lights are great when grilling or working outside in the evening. Our outdoor lights use either fluorescent, high-pressure sodium, incandescent, or LED light sources. We also offer car warning lights for a roadside emergency.

Tips for Outdoor Lighting

Guiding Principle

The best outdoor lights are those that cannot be seen - highlighting an architectural element, an ornamental tree, a pathway, a waterfall, or a landscape artifact without calling attention to themselves.

Doors

Position light fixtures near a door so they do NOT shine in the eyes of someone entering or leaving.

Fixture Balance

Balance and a little restraint are very important. Everything doesn't have to be symmetrical but the number and the intensity of light fixtures should be relatively balanced. Even though you may have one interesting landscape feature, a single light by itself can be very distracting. Do NOT place too many path lights in a straight line; it will resemble an airport runway. Do NOT try to light everything; it will begin to look like a "carnival."

Fixture Quality

Buy high quality, heavy duty, outdoor light fixtures you can afford. These fixtures will last longer, perform better, and provide the lighting effects that will truly enhance your outdoor setting.

Fixture Spacing

Be aware of spacing. If you have several interesting features close together, do NOT try to light them all.

Future Lighting

Plan for future lighting. If you will be adding paths or steps to a landscape, install 2-inch plastic conduit underneath so wiring can be added later.

General Illumination

Lights placed high on the house can gently illuminate an entire yard for parties. But such lights also can create a glare for guests looking back at the house from the yard.

Grazing

Sometimes angle the light so it just grazes a wall, an evergreen, or a tree trunk, highlighting its texture.

Safety

Place lighting under railings, benches, and stairs to increase safety. Lights sometimes can perform double duty; for instance, an uplight on a tree can help light a walkway as well.

Silhouettes

Sometimes shine a light on a wall BEHIND shrubs or a statue to silhouette them.

Timers

Use timers on the transformers in order to automatically turn the lights off at around 11 PM.

Transformer

Buy a large enough transformer to handle all of the lights you will need PLUS a couple of extras. Make sure the transformer has enough terminals to do multiple runs; you do NOT want all of your lights on one wire.

Water

If the water is clear, use submersible lights to dramatically illuminate a pond of water feature. If the water is not clear, uplight a tree or architectural feature nearby and it will be reflected in the still water.

Windows

Direct lights so that they do NOT shine in windows, especially bedroom windows.

Wiring

When you're finished leave all of the wiring above the ground for few nights so you can easily make changes. Use wire that is 10 or 12 gauge - NOT 14 gauge.